The Serpent in the Pulpit
Introduction: The Virtue of Holy Intolerance
We live in an age where the highest virtue is a kind of gelatinous, indiscriminate tolerance. The only thing our culture cannot tolerate is intolerance. In the church, this has manifested as a profound allergy to doctrinal clarity and a severe case of spiritual cowardice, which we have relabeled as being "nice." We are told that to draw sharp lines is to be unloving, to confront error is to be arrogant, and to be jealous for the truth is to be a Pharisee. And so, the modern evangelical church has become a place where, as Paul will say, we "bear beautifully" with every kind of doctrinal and spiritual poison, so long as the one delivering it is winsome and smiles a lot.
Into this lukewarm bath of sentimentality, the Apostle Paul throws a bucket of ice water. He is about to do something he finds distasteful. He is going to boast. He is going to engage in what he sarcastically calls "a little foolishness." But he does so not out of ego, but out of a fierce, protective, godly jealousy. He sees the church he founded, the church he loves, being seduced by slick-talking charlatans, and he is having none of it. He is not being nice; he is being faithful. He is not being tolerant; he is being a loving father protecting his daughter from a predator.
This passage is a bracing corrective for us. It teaches us that there is a time for holy intolerance. It teaches us that the greatest threat to the church is often not the roaring lion of persecution outside the doors, but the subtle, hissing serpent of deception inside the pulpit. The stakes are nothing less than the purity of the bride of Christ and the identity of Jesus Himself.
The Text
I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit which you did not receive, or a different gospel which you did not accept, you bear this beautifully. For I consider myself in no way inferior to the most-eminent apostles. But even if I am unskilled in word, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.
(2 Corinthians 11:1-6 LSB)
The Father of the Bride (vv. 1-2)
Paul begins with a sharp piece of irony.
"I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are bearing with me." (2 Corinthians 11:1)
Paul knows that boasting in his own credentials is, by a heavenly standard, foolishness. But the Corinthians have shown themselves to be connoisseurs of foolishness. They are already putting up with the arrogant boasting of the false apostles who have infiltrated their church. So Paul says, in effect, "Since you have developed a taste for this kind of foolish talk, extend me the same courtesy. You listen to them, now listen to me." It is a rhetorical jab, meant to wake them from their stupor. He is about to beat the false apostles at their own game to show them how hollow that game is.
But his motive is pure, as he states in the next verse.
"For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:2)
This is the heart of the matter. Paul's jealousy is not the petty, insecure, self-centered jealousy of a jilted lover. It is "a godly jealousy." This is the jealousy of God Himself, who will not share His glory with another and who demands exclusive covenant loyalty from His people (Exodus 20:5). Paul, as God's emissary, shares this divine passion. He sees himself in the role of the father of the bride. In that culture, the father was responsible for arranging the marriage and ensuring his daughter's purity until the wedding day. Paul says, "I arranged your marriage. I betrothed you to one husband, Jesus Christ. And my entire ministry is aimed at one goal: to present you to Him on that final day as a pure, chaste virgin."
This is covenant language, through and through. The church is the bride of Christ. The Christian life is a betrothal period. We are waiting for the wedding feast of the Lamb. And during this time, our chief responsibility is fidelity. Purity is not an optional extra for the super-spiritual; it is the central obligation of the bride. When false teachers come in, they are not merely offering a different opinion; they are seducers trying to defile the bride before her wedding day. And Paul, like any good father, is grabbing his shotgun and heading for the front porch.
The Ancient Seduction (v. 3)
Paul identifies the strategy of the enemy, and it is as old as the Garden of Eden.
"But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:3)
The parallel is precise and chilling. The serpent did not attack Eve with a club; he attacked her with a question. He came with "craftiness," with subtle, twisting words designed to corrupt her thinking. He made the simple command of God seem complicated and unreasonable. His goal was to poison her mind. And Paul says this is exactly what is happening in Corinth. The target of the false apostles is the mind. Bad theology is never harmless. It is a corruption of the mind that leads away from Christ.
And what are they being corrupted from? "The simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." The Christian faith is not complex. It is profoundly deep, but its object is simple: a person. Our faith is a single-minded, wholehearted devotion to Jesus Christ. The false teachers, like the serpent, always want to complicate this. They add new rules, secret knowledge, mystical experiences, or philosophical sophistication. They want to move you from a simple trust in Christ to a complex system that they control. The serpent whispered to Eve, "Has God really said?" The false apostles whisper to the church, "Is Jesus really enough?" The moment we entertain that question, our minds have begun to be corrupted.
A Counterfeit Trinity (v. 4)
Paul now specifies the content of the false teachers' message. It is a total counterfeit.
"For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit which you did not receive, or a different gospel which you did not accept, you bear this beautifully." (2 Corinthians 11:4)
This is a counterfeit trinity of error. First, they preach "another Jesus." This is not the Jesus of the apostolic testimony, the Son of God who became incarnate, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, rose from the grave, and now reigns as Lord of heaven and earth. "Another Jesus" could be a mere moral teacher, a political revolutionary, a cosmic guru, or a divine therapist whose only job is to affirm you. But any Jesus other than the Jesus of Scripture is an idol.
Second, this other Jesus comes with "a different spirit." This is not the Holy Spirit, who convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and who glorifies Christ. This is a spirit of the age, a spirit of pride, a spirit of emotional hype, or a spirit of demonic power masquerading as light. It is a spirit that draws attention to men, to experiences, or to itself, but never to the true Christ.
Third, this leads to "a different gospel." This is not the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It is a gospel of works, a gospel of self-help, a gospel of social justice, a gospel of prosperity. It is any message that adds to or subtracts from the finished work of Christ. And Paul's most scathing indictment is reserved for the Corinthians themselves: "you bear this beautifully." You tolerate it. You applaud it. You welcome this poison into your midst as though it were a great blessing. Your open-mindedness is spiritual adultery.
Substance Over Style (vv. 5-6)
Paul then makes his apostolic claim directly, contrasting himself with these frauds.
"For I consider myself in no way inferior to the most-eminent apostles." (2 Corinthians 11:5)
The term "most-eminent apostles" or "super-apostles" is dripping with sarcasm. He is referring to the arrogant intruders who were dazzling the Corinthians. Paul is asserting that his apostolic authority, given directly by Jesus Christ, is in no way second-class. He stands with Peter, James, and John, and he certainly stands over these peddlers of a false gospel.
He then anticipates one of their criticisms.
"But even if I am unskilled in word, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things." (2 Corinthians 11:6)
The super-apostles were likely polished Greek orators. They had rhetorical flair. By comparison, Paul's speech may have seemed rough, plain, or "unskilled." The Corinthians, enamored with worldly wisdom and style, were judging by appearances. Paul draws a critical distinction. He says, "I may not have their rhetorical polish, their 'word,' but I do not lack substance, which is 'knowledge'." The issue is not the eloquence of the delivery but the truth of the content.
And Paul says the proof is in the pudding. "In every way we have made this evident to you." His knowledge was not just in his preaching, but in his life, his suffering for them, his love, and the power of God that transformed their lives through his ministry. True apostolic ministry authenticates itself not by slick presentation, but by the manifest truth of God, demonstrated in word and in power. The Corinthians were being sold a bill of goods, choosing the flashy packaging over the life-giving substance that Paul had already delivered to them.
Conclusion: Guarding Your Devotion
The warning to the Corinthian church is a warning to every church in every age. The serpent is still crafty, and he still slithers into pulpits. He still offers us another Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel. And he still finds people who will "bear it beautifully."
We are the betrothed bride of Christ. Our one great task in this life is to maintain our fidelity to Him. This requires a rugged, simple, and pure devotion. It requires us to be discerning. We must judge ministries not by their style, their charisma, or their cultural appeal, but by their substance. Does this preacher proclaim the Jesus of the Bible? Does this ministry rely on the Holy Spirit of God? Is this the one, true, apostolic gospel?
We must recover a godly jealousy for the truth. We must love Christ enough to hate the counterfeits that dishonor His name and endanger His bride. We must pray for minds that are so saturated with the truth of Scripture that they can immediately detect the hiss of the serpent, no matter how beautifully he speaks. For on that great day, we want to be presented to our Husband not as a bride who has been corrupted, but as one who has kept herself pure for Him alone.